Under my tower speakers -- Isoacoustics Gaia, other options?
I have Ascend towers (45lbs each) on a concrete floor covered in thin wall to wall with an area rug on top of that. I am looking into different footers for my speakers and am curious what people with towers on concrete have tried and liked.
To my mind, something as expensive as Townshend platforms do not seem worth it, as they'd cost about a third of the price of the speakers themselves.
If you've tried Gaia III isolators or other kinds of feet for your speakers, especially on concrete floors, I'm curious to hear your observations. Thanks.
I'd kill for a concrete floor. My listening space is in an old room build in the 1890s and the floor is a little bouncy. I had my speakers on spikes but they basically turned the whole floor into a passive radiator. The house literally shook. I tried Gaia and while they did not help with the bass problem they really focused the midrange. I now have my speakers on 3" thick granite blocks which did help the bass problem built I also left the Gaia on. Things sound very focused.
Your concrete floor is great cause it's totally inert. Coupling to that with spikes should be very effective but Gaia may help bring some mids and highs into focus by stabilizing the speaker overall
The stands are adjustable for height, and the height was adjusted so that the speakers were the same height with/without the Gaias.
The Gaias stay, they made a big improvement in terms of soundstage, and improved/better-defined bass plus they seemed to open out the music and make the whole experience simply more musical.
This was on a carpet over suspended wood floor, with the spiked carpet cups (the latter are a PITA to setup).
I would imagine that these are a lot easier to adjust on a solid floor. The Gaias are supposed to make a sticky contact with the floor and be difficult to move; Isoacoustics has a very nice video on their website that shows how to adjust the speaker positions using a tea towel.
First order objective. Prevent the speakers vibrating to the music.
Second order objective. Prevent the speaker chassis from vibrating in response to the moving parts - cones, etc and other in-room vibrations.
Those who have concrete floors are fortunate. More fortunate still if it is a concrete screed laid directly on footings on the ground. Spikes are mandatory. If the speaker is heavy enough (weight it if it's not) spikes prevent all movement of the speaker chassis. Thus what you hear is only the movement of the cone etc and not cone movement inherited from chassis movement (better known as distortion).
Some people say the vibrations of planet Earth will affect this set up. Phooey. Such vibrations are FAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRR less then in-room in-home vibrations permitted by flexible footers.
None of the above applies where speakers are not standing on concrete, where flexible footers are a necessary compromise solution.
I bought the Gaias and returned them. I suspect any difference people report is attributable to the effect of raising the speakers closer to ear level. In my case, they made the speakers too wobbly for my liking.
Here you can find a paper about coupling or decoupling speakers (in french but Google Translator will turn it into english).
On concrete floor : the best solution is coupling spikes .... but the good general cases way to carry loudspeakers is to use LOW THICKNESS, HARD (requires a low damping factor) DAMPER (rubber) rubber/hard polymer feet less than 5mm.
I used an inexpensive cork/rubber disk to little effect. Then I tried the IsoAcoustics Gaia II and was amazed at the difference. I’ve got hardwood floors upstairs and vinyl tile/carpet over cement on the first floor. In both cases the Gaia II footers made a noticeable and pleasant improvement in the sound and soundstage depth. My speakers are XStatic EC/X, 40lbs each, used 4 footers each. YMMV.
Of all the tweaks/upgrades I’ve employed in my systems, the Townshend podiums made the largest improvement, by a wide margin. They are transformative. Highly recommended 👍🏼
@hilde45 - Are the bases already drilled/tapped for spikes/feet? If so, I would recommend a set out outriggers from parts-express. It will provide a bit wider stance, increasing stability, and provides a good platform for the spikes. The spikes will pierce the carpet and go down to the concrete, providing a nice stable base for your tower speakers. You can still use them if your speakers are not tapped, but you'll need to drill holes for the anchors.
@hilde45 Yes, the Gaia work quite well doing all they need do. For lots more money it's the Townshend. If on carpet/rug the carpet spikes used in conjunction improved the sound as much as the footers. Really a weird affect to me.
I tried concrete slabs and Gaia's ll under my Audiovector R6 arrete but still had bass reverb you can do a Townshend search on the Audiogon forum and read up on other members success with Townshend
I have a hardwood floor covered by carpet and pad. I put down a piece of granite on the carpet and am using the Gaia 1’s under my reference 5’s. They made an immediate improvement. If your floor is concrete, I’ll bet you won’t need the granite. 😃
while I’ve rearranged my system, you can see the speakers with the Gaia’s in my Agon photos.
@captainsteve
Not sure if you saw my OP mentioning that I have a concrete floor not a wooden. I can see how smitten you are with Townshend seismic podiums, though!
@celtic66
Your comment is much appreciated and relevant -- I like your long distance thinking!
"Well worth investment for now and future speaker upgrades. Mine were on carpet over subfloor."
Are you saying that the best solution (apart from Townshend) might be Gaia plust carpert spikes? @stereo5 I see -- you like the Gaia II's on your carpet plus wooden floor; I'm trying to figure out the outcome on a concrete floor. I've heard those are very different kinds of floors to deal with.
I’m using Gaia footers on an SVS PB 16 ultra on wood floors. I’m also using them on a heavy turntable. I’m very pleased with them. I thought they were a bargain at their price. I haven’t used anything more expensive to compare them though. They did tighten up my bass and kept my turntable from getting in a feedback war with my sub. We were having terrible feedback at 90db, and it fixed it completely. No more woofer pumping.
Gaia footers do everything well. I've used them under 2 different pairs of towers: ATC 40 and ATC 50 actives. In both cases attack, dynamics, space around voices/instruments improved. Noise level dropped, hence a blacker background. Well worth investment for now and future speaker upgrades. Mine were on carpet over subfloor .
Enter Townshend No. 3 podiums and everything took another big step forward in all of the aforementioned areas. If you do go with the Gaia footers on an area rug or carpet on top of concrete, well then the carpet spikes are necessary.
@avanti1960 spikes are a good idea. Got a specific rec for those? Tiptoes is sugges@tomcarr @stereo5 Do you have a concrete floor under the speakers/gaia IIs? @captainsteve Is there a specific product Townshend has that you like? @leadcrew Thank you! As far as I can see, a single 2" square is $99? And I need 8 of them. That's pretty steep.
I use GAIA II under my GE Triton Refs. I brought everything into focus, bass was a little tighter and overall presentation was greatly enhanced. One of my best investments.
@hilde45I bought Gaia II for my Burmester BA31, I didn’t feel any difference on concrete floor. Moreover they stick on the floor tiles and it’s more difficult to move the speakers. I think it will make a difference on the wood floor.
Concrete floor is about as good as it gets. Use spikes and make sure they pierce the carpet. A bit of a pain but worth it. I rock my speakers gently back and forth until they feel solid.
Speakers like to be rigid and motionless as possible. The only need for vibration control is to prevent wood or suspended floors from resonating.
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